Military Personnel – Criminal Assault

If you have suffered a criminal injury whilst a member of the armed forces, you may be able to claim compensation.  Contact The Legal Line now on 0800 032 8511 or by completing an online claim enquiry form for specialist claim advice.

Assaults on Armed Forces Members in the UK
Assaults on Armed Forces Members Outside the UK
Our Specialist Military Injury Solicitors

Assaults on Armed Forces Members in the UK

In some cases, if a member of the armed forces has fallen victim of a criminal assault, it is possible to make a personal injury claim for compensation.  This can be carried out in several ways as follows:

  • Directly against the assailant.  Unfortunately, making your injury claim in this way can be very difficult as any judgment made is difficult to enforce against an individual.  As a general rule, we would advise against this type of action.
  • Against the Ministry of Defence.  This type of claim is possible in cases where you have been exposed unnecessarily by the employer to a risk which could have been foreseen and therefore avoided if a reasonable amount of care were taken.
  • Through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2001.  Most often, claims in respect of criminal injuries are made this way.  British ships, aircraft and hovercraft are considered to be part of Great Britain for legal purposes.  It is a statutory scheme which helps to compensate victims of violent crime for their injuries.  The organisation that administrates such matters is the CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority).

Compensation claims in respect of criminal injuries are somewhat different to those for injuries caused by negligence.  The following points should be noted:

  1. Awards are based on the injury itself within a set tariff, and do not differ based on each claimant’s personal circumstances.
  2. If there is more than one injury inflicted, a scale is used to calculate the amount payable.  This is based on 100% for the most severe injury, 30% for the second and 15% for a third.
  3. Minor injuries that would give rise to a claim for less than £1,000 would be awarded nothing.
  4. Loss of earnings is not paid in full, as the initial 28 weeks of any absence are not covered.  Additionally, there is a limit to the amount that can be paid out, which stands at one and a half gross industrial earnings, meaning that claimants with a high income can not expect to receive payment in line with that.
  5. No legal costs are payable, so in the event that you choose to appoint a legal representative to deal with the CICA on your behalf, you would need to pay them a fee.
  6. There is a 2 year time limitation on bringing a criminal injury claim.  Few exceptions are made to this for adult claimants, except in some cases of sexual assault.

When making a claim against the Ministry of Defence, it is sometimes possible to also claim under the scheme; however any damages awarded in the case against the employer would be deducted from the CICA award.

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Assaults on Armed Forces Members Outside the UK

As a member of the armed forces, foreign travel is commonplace, and so it is possible that your criminal injury may have occurred whilst abroad.  Although making a compensation claim for such incidents can be much more complicated, it is not impossible in all cases, as you could be eligible under the Ministry of Defence‘s Criminal Injuries Compensation (Overseas) Scheme.

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Our Specialist Military Injury Solicitors

It is important that you seek specialist advice at the earliest convenience in respect of this type of claim.  The Legal Line has specialist personal injury lawyers with extensive experience of criminal injury matters.  They will be able to provide expert claim advice on whether a case can be pursued and on how best to do this.

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